December 2018
Archer Western to build DART’s 26-mile Cotton Belt commuter rail line
DALLAS – Dallas Area Rapid Transit has approved a $783 million contract for Archer Western and joint venture partner Herzog Contracting Group to design and build the Cotton Belt commuter rail line with assistance from lead designer Jacobs Engineering. The 26-mile line will stretch across North Texas from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Plano, and it will connect northern areas of Tarrant, Dallas, and Collin counties.
Cotton Belt includes 10 total stations as well as interchanges with the DART light rail Orange, Green and Red lines, the TEXRail commuter line to Fort Worth and local bus services. Stations will be located in Dallas, Carrollton, Addison, Richardson and Plano.
"North Texas is booming, and this reliable, local transit option will be a welcomed addition for many residents," said David Casey, president of Archer Western's heavy civil division. "We are thrilled to partner with DART and connect the communities of North Texas via Cotton Belt's high-quality transit service."
In addition to numerous past DART projects, Archer Western and Herzog are delivering transportation infrastructure in tandem across the Dallas/Fort Worth region. The companies are in the final stages of constructing TEXRail, a new 27-mile commuter rail project for Trinity Metro extending from downtown Fort Worth into Terminal B at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Archer Western is also completing a separate contract for the new DFW Terminal B station, the terminus for TEXRail.
Construction on the Cotton Belt line will begin in 2019 with project completion anticipated in 2022.